Suitable Wereiness
by Ashynarr
Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things. [1pAme2pCan, Supernatural/Human AU, Were!Alex]
1. Patient Lupine

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

(Holy shit the second AmeCan fic from the IceCreamery I'm actually gonna expand on! What a shocker, yeah?)

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It would not be a shock to anyone who knew him that Alfred liked to consider himself a hero. It also wasn't a shock that that, combined with his deep affection for animals of all shapes and sizes, was what led him on the path to be a wildlife veterinarian.

Sure, it wasn't all dramatic last-minute rescues like in all those hospital dramas his older brother vehemently denied watching, but there was something satisfying with how unconditionally happy a lot of the animals brought in were, whether lost strays or injured wildlife. Not all of them were happy about check-ups - most people weren't either - but helping sick animals get better always gave him a warm fuzzy feeling in his chest.

He worked with several others at the small building just inside the local national park - Basch and Erzsebet, two of the rangers who patrolled regularly and alerted him to when his help was needed; Toris, who generally helped him out tending to the animals under their care when he wasn't busy with his other duties; and Yao, the resident ecologist who could usually be found in his office writing up his studies when he wasn't out with the rangers following the locals around to make sure the populations were staying stable.

During his six years working there he'd cared for everything from eagles to deer to bear cubs, and couldn't have been happier. In fact, when Toris scrambled into the clinic with news of a new temporary resident, he was just caring for the pair of wolf cubs who'd been separated from their pack by a run-in with a bear and almost starved to death before their rescue.

"An adult?" Alfred frowned lightly - they rarely brought in adult animals, who were much less willing to trust than their younger counterparts.

Toris nodded, tucking some stray hair back as he handed over a sheet. "They say he was caught in a bear trap, already out cold by the time they literally stumbled over him. We're hoping to help him recover and find out who was trying to poach in a protected area."

The young American frowned more, wishing that there weren't people out there who thought they were above the rules and could do such cruel things to animals who'd never done harm besides existing. "Right, I'll get the table ready for surgery, can you go grab the tetanus shot and the suture?"

"On it." With that the slighter man dashed back out the door, Alfred already grabbing a clean cloth to throw over the operating table before grabbing out two pairs of gloves, surgical masks, and a set of sterilized tools, along with a needle for blood sampling.

(They couldn't risk missing something that could leave the poor thing sick for months or even longer, after all.)

It wasn't ten minutes later that Toris and Alfred were ready, just in time for the rangers to haul in what was possibly largest wolf either had seen; even from there the two could see the injured leg, red still visible against the silver-grey fur. As soon as the other two left the room again the duo set to work, shaving the fur from around the wound so they could better clean the wound before applying some antibacterial ointment and stitching the holes shut. Only once the task was done did Alfred turn to check on the blood tests, which Toris had started just as he was finishing the stitches before leaving the American to finish up while he wrote out a report to send in on the incident.

At first glance everything seemed in order, though the longer he looked over the results the more he frowned. There was something - off - about a few of the results, and while normally that would indicate disease, these readings didn't at all match what he was used to seeing when that was the case.

Shaking his head and telling himself he would come back to it once he'd had a chance to clean up a bit and grab something to eat - he'd had to skip lunch for the emergency - he'd barely made it down the hall before running into Basch.

"Is he okay?" The ranger asked, relaxing when Alfred grinned and gave him a thumbs up.

"He'll be just fine." His smile faltered a little at the memory of the odd test results, shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts and turning back to his coworker only to notice something odd. "What's that on your hands?"

"Hmm?" The Swiss man looked down to look at the black stains on his hands with a frown. "I think they're just oil stains."

"You sure?" Alfred asked with a frown. "They look like you were holding something for a while."

"The last thing I was carrying was the trap we pulled the wolf from…"

Both of them came to a similar conclusion at the same time. "Shit, that's what was throwing me, there was something on the trap-"

"I'll go get it so we can find out what it is."

"Hurry up!" Alfred immediately turned back to return to his patient, figuring his best shot was the Internet at this point.

By the time Basch had returned with the trap - this time wearing gloves - the vet had narrowed it down to a likely candidate of silver nitrate - an absolutely odd answer, but the one that fit best with the stain, especially when it barely washed away with thorough scrubbing until they added ammonia to the mix.

"Why in the world would they use that, though? It's not even toxic at these levels or for short exposure..."

The ranger shrugged, reclaiming the trap with much more caution. "Maybe they mixed it up with another chemical?"

"Possibly," Alfred frowned in thought as the man left to report to Toris, looking back to the unconscious wolf. "Weird mistake for a poacher to make, though."

It was an irritant in some cases, sure, but surely not something capable of causing a near-allergic reaction, right?

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: So hey, haven't posted AmeCan stuff outside the drabble collections in a while, huh? But I guess as I find things I want to write out they can be moved from the drabble collection to my main page so that more people can see them. God I have so much stuff I wanna write you guys don't even know.

Anyways yeah this is a repost of the first chapter from the collection, edited a bit to catch the few mistakes I missed first time around. Second chapter should be showing up soon. I have no clue how long this will be, but I hope I can make an old trope feel new and interesting again. Enjoy!


	2. Waking Up

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

(Holy shit the second AmeCan fic from the IceCreamery I'm actually gonna expand on! What a shocker, yeah?)

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

The wolf still hadn't woken up by the following morning, when Alfred stopped in to give the pups their morning meal and check on the newest patient's stitches. He wasn't too surprised that the two were wary of the larger animal - who knew if they were even from the same pack?

(Erzsebet had yet to figure out which pack the wolf had come from, which was odd for such a visually distinct creature. He was just a bundle of more and more mysteries, wasn't he?)

The stitches hadn't torn overnight, and there was no signs of inflammation or infection like he'd been worrying over since the results of all the blood tests had been recorded. Alfred sighed in thanks, hoping everything would go cleanly from here (though it would be a pain if this wolf was one of the ones who loved to bite at the itching, healing wounds.)

"You're pretty lucky, big guy." Alfred ran a hand across the wolf's fur, scratching briefly behind the ears like he'd done with his old mutt as a kid. "If the blood loss hadn't killed you, that allergic reaction probably would've if Liz and Basch hadn't found you in time."

He was glad no one was around to see him talk to the wolf, or else he'd be teased about it for the rest of the week again. If he wasn't chastised for trying to treat the wild animals like pets, of course.

"Liz says she has no idea which pack you're from, since she doesn't remember anyone your size running around with them. Hopefully it's just us not knowing as much as we like to say we do so you can join up with them once you're all better."

Alfred chuckled a bit. "Wouldn't it be lucky if you were from the same group as our other two, huh? I don't think they are from how they're acting, but Yao would know more than me about that. I just make you take your meds.

"Anyways, I need to check on the pups again and make sure they're eating. I'll bring you something when you wake up, alright?" The vet gave the wolf one last pat before getting to his feet, stretching his arms out briefly. "Just don't chew on your stitches - those things are expensive."

Alfred walked out of the room, not noticing the one dark blue eye cracking open to follow after him until the door clicked shut.

Alexander sighed softly, closing his eye and resuming his 'sleeping' pose while he thought. He'd actually woken up the previous night, but had fallen asleep again once his still-hazy mind registered that his body was barely aching anymore. He'd actually only woken up again because he'd heard the rather loud footsteps approaching, though he stayed still in case they were one of the people who had made that infernal were trap in the first place.

But, to his surprise, it'd just been some normal guy with a penchant for rambling and wandering hands. Though he couldn't deny the attention hadn't been bad, per say…

Blood loss and allergies. How had these people found him before the hunters had? He couldn't deny, though, that at the least it seemed a safe place to recover, even if he couldn't really change safely with his leg as it was. He could feel where the skin was bared, a cold spot where everything else was warm, not to mention itching like a bitch-

Alex firmly clamped down on the first instinct to scratch at it until it stopped, not interested in extending his stay here longer than necessary. He had no clue how long it'd be until the hunters realized their prey was gone, and if they found out where he was…

No, he was not getting these folk involved if he could help it. He was a beast, not a monster.

_Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrgrl_. He was also hungry, as his stomach finally decided to remind him. Alex just hoped the generic dog food wouldn't taste _too_ horrible.

(It did, but between the stewed meat mixed with it and his hunger it was tolerable enough that he finished it off.)

Thankfully Alfred (as the vet introduced himself - really, what a weird person) had given him his space to eat, allowing him to make all the faces at the blandness he wanted without being looked at strangely.

He sat back, licking the remaining meat off his jaw while thinking of his next step. He'd never gotten a silver-poisoned injury before, and he didn't know how thorough the vet and his friend 'Toris' had been in getting it out, so he had no clue how long it would take to recover. Hopefully only a few weeks at most; this place was way too - calming. It'd lower his guard, make him relaxed when he should be cautious. It'd get him killed, eventually.

This building - and that vet - were Bad News.

The only way it could be worse is if that obnoxious fucker Tommy showed up to mock him in his misery. At least he could be glad the guy was a fucking idiot and so probably wouldn't figure it out until he was already gone.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: And here's chapter two! We get our first look into Alex's mindset about the issue and a bit more into Alfred's character. Hopefully I'll be able to bring the other characters I've mentioned into the story more as I go along, because they don't get enough interaction time with Alfred as it is, and he needs more non-FACE friends (that aren't Ivan).

Also, any bets on how long it takes Tommy to find Alex? I'm also taking bets on how long it takes Alex to get sick of pet food and try to liberate some real food.


	3. Not Safe For Outdoor Use

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"I don't think it's wild."

Alfred looked up to Yao, who was frowning as he looked into the room where the wolf was currently resting on the old mattress they'd put in. "You mean the wolf?"

"What else would I be talking about?" The Chinese-American man asked, glancing over to his coworker with a frown. "I'm fairly certain even you've noticed how domestic it's behavior is."

"Well, yeah, but I figured that was just the meds." The vet looked glanced into the room briefly. "But yeah, it's a bit weird that I haven't had to replace any stitches so far, considering how bad they have to itch at this point."

Yao nodded, looking back to the wolf as well. "In addition, it's bigger than any other wolf on the reserve by a good degree, even accounting for good genetics, and its body structure is just different enough that I doubt whatever this guy is is even the same species."

"So he's not from the reserve?"

"If he was, one of the rangers would have found records of him by now." The ecologist tapped his fingers against the table, frowning. "If I had to guess, he's some sort of wolfdog. Couldn't tell you how many generations, but definitely at least two."

Alfred leaned back to stare at his friend, unmasked surprise on his face. "You think he's someone's pet that wandered onto the reserve?"

"It's the most likely thing I can think of, unless you have a better idea."

"Nah, just saying it's weird." The blond shook his head. "You think the owner's put out a missing ad for them yet?"

Yao snorted. "It's illegal to own or breed them in most of the country, and even here you'd need a license just to own it. I doubt anyone wants to get fined for allowing their potentially wild pet to wander off and breed, so I doubt you'd find anything even if you asked around."

"That's a shame," Alfred admitted, frowning a bit. "Bucky seems friendly enough, though I get why the regulations are there."

"Bucky?" Yao asked, a tinge of amusement in his voice as he looked back to the other man.

"Hey, it fits him," The blond defended. "And no one else came up with a name for him."

"Fair enough," The ecologist conceded, though Alfred could still see the grin linger for a bit before he turned back to the wolf, his frown returning with the gesture.

"So what're we gonna do with him? We obviously can't release him into the wild, and I don't really want to see him put down." Alfred stopped with an embarrassed expression, quickly continuing. "I mean, we already put a lot into helping him recover, and it'd really suck if that all went to waste-"

"Alfred," Yao interrupted. "Don't try to pretend this is about anything other than your soft spot for animals."

The veterinarian just shrugged helplessly, grinning weakly at how easily he'd been read. "Just saying."

The older man huffed. "I wasn't planning on suggesting euthanization anyways; if he'd displayed any sort of aggressive behavior I'd consider it, but frankly I've met family pets that are more likely to attack someone than him."

Alfred sighed a bit in relief. "What were you thinking then?"

Yao hummed in thought, looking back to the newly dubbed Bucky. "We have that tour group coming in a few weeks, right? If he's still proven to be unaggressive around people we could probably get away with using him during the talk about the wolves on the reserve."

"Wow, that'd be actually pretty neat." Alfred grinned. "Obviously we can't let anyone near him just in case, maybe train him to a leash or something? But if it went well-"

"We could probably get legal ground to get a licence to keep him around." Yao grinned as well. "Of course, we'd need to chip him so he can be found if he tries to wander off."

"Psh, that's like five minutes work tops, Bucky won't notice a thing." The vet laughed quietly. "Ya know, I already wanted a dog, though this isn't quite what I was expecting."

"Don't get too attached," Yao warned. "I'd hate to see him go as much as you, but if he's more wild than he's shown-"

"I know, I know, the risk wouldn't be worth it." Alfred looked away with a frown. "We should probably talk to the others before we finalize anything, since they're going to have to get used to him being around if he stays."

"Just what I was thinking. Bucky will need to get used to them as well, since you're the only person whose scent and presence he's been exposed to in any significant amount so far."

"Man, I hope Toris'll be alright; I think he might've said something about big dogs before, but I don't know if it was something serious or not."

"Guess we'll be finding out soon, hmm?"

"Definitely." Alfred paused, grinning. "Never pegged you for a guy with a soft spot for cute things."

Yao flushed, giving the other a fierce look that was laughed off as he snapped back, "Aiyaa, don't you dare tell anyone!"

"Sure thing," The younger promised, crossing his fingers behind his back and wondering what he could bribe out of Erzsebet for the tidbit.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Got this out just in time, ahaha. Actually spent most of today wondering how the fuck I was gonna keep Alex around, then a stray thought about Yao questioning Alex's lineage suddenly gave my the out and information I needed to go 'I have a freaking plot hoorah!'

So yeah, I have a plot, hoorah! Let's celebrate with another chapter. Also, for information on wolfdogs, I just sorta wiki'd it. I can't say it's 100% accurate, but, well, werewolves. Forget complete accuracy of any sort.


	4. Pride Cometh

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"C'mon, Bucky, it's just a collar, it won't bite."

Alex growled, giving the idiot who thought he would willingly put on any such thing a hard look. Did he look like some pet dog that needed to be taken on walks? Not to mention that ridiculous name-

"C'mon, I know you want to get out of this room for a bit, but I can't let you just wander around on your own." Alfred tried to persuade. It was actually sort of amusing how hard he was trying, and he did have a point in that it was really fucking boring in the room, especially since the 'toys' that were supposed to entertain him were for _animals_, not people.

When the vet tried approaching again, Alex held a growl in his throat but didn't bear his teeth. It got the message across without being threatening (too much, anyways) and gave him more time to think. What was more important, his short-term dignity or his long-term knowledge of how to get out of here and also grab something palatable to eat on his way out?

So far pride had been winning, but he didn't think he could last much longer on dog food before going a bit crazy. The brief ache in his leg reminded him that he had at least another two weeks of recovery ahead, and that was enough to decide that if nothing else he still needed to know the way out of the building so that once he'd recovered he could leave and not become some nature show for people.

Huffing to show his discontent, he finally allowed Alfred to approach and put it on, grimacing at what it represented but seeing no other option. He shook off the hand that attempted to scratch behind his ears after that, making it clear he wanted the tour to go as fast as possible so he could just get the damned thing off that much sooner.

Alfred laughed, giving one last pat before getting up and heading over to the door. "Fine, c'mon then, you grump."

They only spent a few minutes outside the room, most of that being complemented by a fairly pretty young woman who he soon learned was 'Erzsebet', one of the people who had found him out in the woods. If he had been human, he supposed he would have begrudgingly thanked her, but as he was allowing her a minute to pet him before shaking her off seemed to settle it well enough.

Well, that and the conversation he'd gotten to drop in on.

"Wow, you really must have been someone's pet before all this, huh?" She'd asked while her hands had been at the base of his neck. "You're way too friendly for some wild animal."

'_Yeah, I noticed, thanks,'_ Alex had replied mentally, though he didn't think he was all that friendly.

"Isn't he, though?" Alfred grinned, one hand still resting on the edge of the collar just in case. As Alex had found out, the blond was a lot stronger than he looked, making the gesture much more potent that he would otherwise consider. "It's too bad we can't find the owner, but I guess it's a gain for us."

"No kidding; he'll be a huge hit with the tour group, won't he? I don't think most people have even heard of a wolfdog, much less seen one."

'_Tour group? What tour group?' _Alfred hadn't mentioned anything about that, which was a shock for the talkative man. '_And wolfdog?_'

"If Yao gives the okay. We're still trying to see if he can handle being around a lot of people at once, because we don't want something making him anxious enough to try to defend himself."

Erzsebet looked up to Alfred, a light smile on her face. "Ah, so that's why he's being taken on a walk today. I don't think any of the others are here right now, though, so he'll have to wait a bit longer to meet everyone else."

Alfred shrugged with the arm that wasn't holding onto Alex's collar. "It's fine, we'll take it slowly so he's not overwhelmed. I'm really hoping this works out and we can get a license to keep him, because otherwise…"

It took a few seconds for Alex to realize what he was implying, but the way both of their lips and faces dropped when they glanced at him made a chill go down his spine.

'_If an animal proves too aggressive to keep captive and too dangerous to release, there's only one thing left to do with it...'_

Thankfully neither of them noticed his brief swallow, and the fur disguised any sort of paling he might have been going through at the realization that this wasn't going to be quite as simple a recovery as he'd hoped. '_And here I was worried about it being too peaceful.'_

During the walk back he started thinking hard, not even noticing the collar being removed as he settled thankfully down onto his makeshift bed. Though it chafed at his pride to let himself be ordered around, there seemed to be no other option in order to keep the people here happy and thus himself happy.

'_Only two weeks,'_ He told himself, forcing the worry down so he could rest. '_Only two weeks and one dumb tour group and I'm out of here for good.'_

Forget being gracious, he was definitely taking at least a full meal from the kitchen on his way out. It was a petty theft, but it was enough to take his mind off his possible future - or lack thereof.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: I feel so bad for Alex in this chapter, but he still doesn't have the full story on what's going on so of course he's gonna see everything the wrong way, poor guy. But it won't be long before he can be human again, and that's when things are gonna get really good.

Sometimes it's difficult restraining myself from just instantly writing all the important scenes I see in my head, but I'd just end up with a bunch of disjointed drabbles and less motivation to link them up into a coherent story. Ah well.


	5. Guest Starring

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Two weeks was a long time to pretend to be nothing but a harmless mutt, especially with the food and shots and exams that came with it. The only upside to the whole situation was that the damn stitches had finally come out, his leg finally back to normal if still a bit bare of fur. Alex had also gotten to learn the layout of the building, meaning after this little show he could get out of here for good.

The day seemed to stretch on longer than all the rest of his time there together, his body itching to get out of there and get back to his life…

Not that it was much of one, considering. Did he even still have his job? His apartment? He grimaced, an uncomfortable expression but more than fitting considering this entire mess so far.

A small part of him would admit, though, that he'd miss Alfred, just a little bit. Asides from a few people who visited sporadically at most, the most companionship he'd known was the pest that was somehow his friend of sorts. Alfred had, in three weeks, provided more human companionship and conversation, however onesided, then he'd gotten in the previous three months.

It was nice, for someone as shy as he was. It was a shame they hadn't met under different circumstances, but he didn't think they'd really have a chance to cross paths again after this.

His restless pacing came to a halt as he heard the now-familiar footsteps approaching. Shaking himself off, he turned to wait for the door to open, thankful that they were finally going to get this over with.

"Hey there, Bucky." Alfred greeted, smiling as always. "Looks like someone's excited to get out of here."

'_You have no idea,'_ Alex huffed, allowing the collar and leash to be slipped on before keeping pace out of the room and into the main hall.

Even before they went through the front door, he could pick up the noises of people shuffling around outside, not to mention smell them. Stopping a moment to mentally prepare himself - he wasn't much for attention even at the best of times - he startled a bit on feeling Alfred's hand behind his ears, before relaxing into it.

"Nervous, buddy?" The vet sympathized. "Don't worry, I am too. But it's only a dozen people, nothing too crazy. We'll get through this and it'll all be good, yeah?"

'_Right,'_ Alex bobbed his head slightly, more for himself. '_Just this, and I can get out of here the second everyone's asleep and go home.'_

With one last pat, Alfred turned and pushed the door open, the two of them stepping out into the afternoon warmth. Alex made it all of three steps before one very familiar scent reached his nose, prompting him to stare with some horror at the last face he wanted to see here.

"Ah, there's our guest star," Erzsebet's voice cut through his surprise, making him shake his head and put on his best resigned face as he walked the rest of the way to the small stage set out on the grass. "As you can see, he's pretty big, but I promise he's entirely friendly."

Alex didn't need to imagine the snort of amusement from the brunet lounging at the back of the crowd, and sent a look at him which promised pain later on. Of course his luck would have to be this bad, wouldn't it?

"He's a lot bigger than what a normal wolf would be, because he's a wolf-dog hybrid. As you might guess, he has both wild and domestic lineages in him, though in this guy's case he's taken to the domestic side."

She didn't even need to bend down to scratch him behind the ears. "Now, in most places it's illegal to breed them, though here you can if you have the right license. I wouldn't recommend it, though - most wolfdogs tend to be a lot more wild and aggressive to people, and you can be fined heavily for allowing them to get loose and potentially breed."

Alex winced slightly, ever so grateful that that had been overlooked during his stay.

The rest of the talk drifted away from him and towards other things, allowing him to catch the eye of the brunet while the crowd was distracted. '_I swear to god, if you say anything...'_

He got a grin and a wink in return, making it clear that he'd gotten his message across, or at least that his ass of a friend was too busy being entertained to speak up. Later, though, Alex knew he could expect endless ribbing for being shown off in some nature awareness skit.

A familiar sigh escaped him. '_God damnit, Tommy.'_

Of course, if that had been the end of it that would be one thing, but of course Tommy just had to push his luck when Alex couldn't do anything about it. The brunet, still looking far too amused, put on his most innocent expression while raising his hand. "I was just wondering, were you guys thinking of breeding him?"

Erzsebet blinked. "Not right now; we don't have a licence for it, anyways. Why do you ask?"

Tommy shrugged. "I was just thinking he looked lonely and could use a friend is all."

'_I really, really hate you,'_ Alex glared at his friend, who gave him another innocent look with an extremely smug grin hiding just underneath.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: You don't understand how fun this was to write. Tommy is just such a shit I love him so much ahhh. And yeah Alex you tell yourself you'll only miss Al a little bit, you just tell yourself that. (Tommy is 2p!America, btw.)

We're getting into some plot, if you can believe that. This ain't a short little series, I'm in it for the long haul. Plus we need time for Al and Alex to properly meet and get used to each other.


	6. Nightly Escapades

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

[[Note: Yes, Tommy is 2p!America. Sorry for that, I'm so used to tumblr recognizing the names that I forget that ffnet doesn't have nearly as much investment in the 2p fandom.]]

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Alex never thought he would be so relieved to taste the cool night air in his life, but here he was, letting his bare, human feet dig into the soil while he basked in the slim moonlight. And it hadn't even been a challenge - he just walked out of there pretty much the moment everyone had fallen asleep. Doors might have kept a wolf trapped, but a human? Pfft.

(He refused to remember that before he'd realized the door wasn't locked, he'd spent a good fifteen minutes trying to work his way out through the just-too-small window that allowed fresh air to circulate in the recovery room.)

He stretched his muscles out a bit, the faint ache from transformation lingering as it always did. He'd soon change back to give himself better speed and protection on the way back to his house, where hopefully he could call up Tommy and his workplace and try to salvage his job and his dignity.

But for now, he was just enjoying not being stuck in a dull recovery room. God, it'd been even worse than his stay in the hospital as a kid - at least there he'd been able to convince the nurses to bring him books to read. Animals, sadly, did not get the same treatment.

A nearby tree branch cracked, causing his head to snap in that direction, relaxed mood instantly gone in favor of gritty alertness. He was about to chastise himself for reacting to his wolfish instincts when he noticed there was something actually up in the branches, annoying grin and all.

"Tired of being a housepet already?" Tommy teased, grin wider as his friend bristled. "I thought you were having fun."

"You know damn well I had no way of getting out before then," Alex told him, unamused. "And why are you here?"

"Me? I'm here to rescue you, of course." The brunet fluttered his lashes mockingly.

"I got out just fine without your help." Alex looked his friend over, frowning. "Did you _fly_ here?"

"Naw, I just walked several dozen miles ta come visit you." Tommy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I flew here. And yeah, I stayed low so no one could see me, I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me," Alex muttered.

Part of him felt bad for Tommy, who'd been stuck with the mixed blessing of being a werebat. On one hand, it meant being able to fly and navigate at night far better than a werewolf like him, but on the other, he was stuck with the false stigmas for 'vampirism' that had invaded media, including the bloodsucking and hypnotising and whatever other powers people seemed to think they had.

(Though Alex had to admit the idea of the stringently vegetarian fruitcake of a fruit bat attempting to get blood out of someone was hilarious.)

Tommy still heard, flipping him off before hopping down from his branch, hidden wings slowing his descent until he landed safely before melting away. "So you planning on leaving soon, or do ya want to freeze your dick off first?"

The werewolf only grunted in reply, shaking himself out before briefly focusing. In less than a minute he was a wolf again, looking remarkably unimpressed as he waited for his friend to change over as well so they could leave. Tommy started to do the same, but barely had his ears started to shift than the two of them as one sharply turned to their side, noticing the dim light just in time to jump away before the spell hit.

"Fuck, hunters!"

More like hunter, since no spells came from any other directions. Both of them recognized the face as one of the others in the crowd earlier that day, making Tommy swear out loud while Alex had to resort to growled insults. '_Just my fucking luck, isn't it?'_

He really, really didn't like hunters, because they were always crusading against anything supernatural that they couldn't control themselves. They used the excuse of weres being mindless killers as an excuse, ignoring that more weres were more than happy to live their innocuous lives within the greater human population.

That also made it a lot harder to deal with him, as severely injuring them would mean more fuel for the crusade, while leaving them alone meant they'd just come back for more. He'd had to move several times already because of them, and on top of the recent injury he'd recovered from and his newfound freedom being eaten away, he was really starting to wish he didn't have such a strong moral compass.

At the least, they could knock the guy out cold and make a break. With any luck they'd be gone before he woke up and alerted whatever friends were in the area. Whether packing up and leaving their apartments was yet to be seen, but with his recent luck he wouldn't count it out.

'_Fuck my life,'_ Alex complained to no one, focused on dodging spells and traps as he closed in on the hunter. One spell managed to glance across his back, his nerves there alighting with pain and pulling a snarl from his throat as he tried to ignore it.

Suddenly the world was brighter, briefly startling him before he realized it was from the building maybe a hundred yards away from their fight. They'd woken somebody up, possibly from a stray spell shaking the building even if they made no actual noise. They needed to get out of there fast-

The hunter was already running, but when Alex went to follow his back flared, causing him to drop with a wince. Tommy had stopped to help him up, only running again when the wolf snarled in warning. The other were had barely made it a dozen feet, though, before a gunshot barely impacted right in front of him.

Alex winced as Tommy stopped, throwing his hands up. He couldn't blame his friend - he'd be just as freaked out about a shotgun nearly blowing his feet out from under him - but on the other hand he really wished it hadn't been Basch on night duty.

The Swiss-American approached, looking thunderous as he kept the gun trained on Tommy. On reaching Alex he bent down, pressing into the injured spot and causing the wolf to wince, though not just from the pain.

'_Damnit, and I was so close to freedom, too...'_

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Okay, I have to admit, this chapter was almost entirely about working the line 'fruitcake of a fruit bat' into it somewhere. The fact that it was plot relevant is only partially relevant really. But not to worry - soon we'll be getting into the much more serious plot at hand, and the actual romance type issues.


	7. Questioning

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Of everything Alfred had expected after the first successful showing of Bucky, coming in the next morning to an unhappy team definitely wasn't one of them.

"What's wrong?" He'd asked on taking in the atmosphere, utterly confused as to why everyone looked so frustrated.

"You didn't check your voicemail?" Yao asked, frowning.

"No, I was late getting up so I sorta rushed out the door…"

The other people in the room exchanged glances.

"Bucky was almost kidnapped last night," Basch eventually told him, sending his mind reeling.

"What? Why? Do you know who did it? Is Bucky alright?"

Erzsebet sighed deeply. "We don't know, we have one of the people who tried, and Bucky seems to have some bruising on his back, but other than that he's fine."

Alfred closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll go check on him first, then. Did you get anything from the person you caught?"

"Not much, just that he wasn't working with the other person who ran off and that he wasn't trying to kidnap anyone." She shook her head. "Don't know why he thinks we'll believe that when we caught him over Bucky."

The vet shrugged, equally confused, before tilting his head as a thought struck him. "You think he's the guy who left that trap in the woods?"

Basch and Erzsebet exchanged surprised looks before looking back to him. "We didn't think about that," She started "but if he or his friend are the same people-"

"-And I know the guy we have at least was in the tour group, which is how they could've found out-" Basch continued when she paused to think.

Yao grimaced, finishing the train of thought for everyone. "Then he'll have more serious charges than just attempted kidnapping."

Alfred frowned thoughtfully. "Well, at least he wasn't successful, right? And with any luck the other guy won't come back or he will and we'll be able to catch them."

Yao smiled lightly at that. "That's true, I guess. SPeaking of which, don't you have a patient to check up on?"

The vet's eyes widened. "Shit, I should go do that."

Despite their reassurances, he hadn't really been sure how Bucky would be until he practically burst in, the dog's head rising from the bed on his abrupt entrance and looking fairly alright except for the bit of singing along his back.

"Hey there, Bucky." Alfred greeted, relief flooding his veins as he moved over to check over his patient. "You really had some night, huh?"

The wolf huffed, passively accepting the petting and wincing when Alfred's hand moved further down to the injured spot. Careful to avoid causing more pain, he moved the fur away to take a look, wincing at the nasty bruise forming. "Whatever did that packed a wallop, huh bud?"

Bucky seemed to grumble in agreement, not moving when he got up to go grab some numbing ointment to rub into the spot. However, it wasn't in its usual spot, making him frown while he searched through the other cabinets for it.

"I know i put it back in its usual spot…" The vet frowned, closing another set of doors. "Did Toris move it again?"

Behind him a door creaked and he turned just in time to see a tuft of fur disappear through the doorway. Immediately forgetting the ointment, he scrambled out after Bucky, cursing himself for forgetting to close the doors in his panic. "Bucky, get back here!"

The wolf, however, seemed to ignore him, making his way down the hall and stopping at another door, pawing insistently even as Alfred caught up and grabbed him by the scruff. "What has gotten into you?"

The door opened, revealing a surprised Erzsebet. "Alfred? I thought you were with-"

"Bucky, no!" Ignoring the two of them, Bucky pulled himself away from the vet and squeezed past the ranger's legs to get into the room, halting whatever conversation was going on inside.

"I don't know what's gotten into him," Alfred apologized as he entered, stopping when he saw exactly where the wolf had led himself to. "Is that-"

"The kidnapper." Basch rubbed his forehead, whether at being interrupted or at trying to process the fact that Bucky had very firmly planted himself next to the brunet in the chair, letting himself be pet by the guy who by all accounts the wolf should be avoiding.

"Yeah, because clearly the mutt I was trying to kidnap would come all this way just ta be pet," The man snarked, before looking to the dog with less amusement. "It's your fault I'm stuck here, by the way."

Bucky huffed, shoving at the brunet with his nose before settling down at his feet.

"He seems awfully familiar with you," Basch finally commented.

"He's my friend's pet," The man responded, leaning back in his seat. "And before you ask, what was I supposed to say earlier when you'd just brought up that it was supposedly illegal to own him without a license?"

"You were still here late at night acting suspiciously."

The man groaned. "And I told you, I overheard that other guy mention something about finishing the job, and I didn't think you'd believe me if I called and said someone was threatening to come get him so-"

"-you decided to play vigilante instead?" Basch interrupted.

"...well when you put it that way it seems like a dumb idea."

The rangers both sighed, shaking their heads. Alfred, however, was more focused on Bucky, who seemed rather interested in the whole conversation if the way he followed the speakers were any indication. He'd always been like that, the vet knew, but until that moment it hadn't really struck him how odd it was for and canine to be so attentive to a conversation when their name wasn't being mentioned.

Well, it wasn't like this situation wasn't weird enough already. Maybe some time to think would make it all clear.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: And the plot ever progresses forward... not to worry, Alex and Alfred will be meeting face to face very soon! And then we can get into the business of getting those two together while also maintaining the plot and stuff. I hope you'll like the surprise characters soon to show up.

I hope everything makes sense so far! You can tell me if it doesn't and I'll try to clear it up if I can, promise.


	8. Before The Fall

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Night shifts at the clinic were rarely exiting, excepting the rare intrusion by the less than savory types. The only reason they really had the shifts was because of the animals under their care, as if something happened there needed to be someone available immediately to help them or call for assistance.

Alfred really didn't mind the shifts too much, as the small bunk in the backroom wasn't uncomfortable and he didn't have any pets or significant others back at his flat in town to worry over either. Heck, Bucky was the closest thing he had to a pet, and there was no way he was taking the guy back to his place anytime soon, even without the kidnapping scare.

The kidnapping, surprisingly, was not his reason for his restless pacing; the wolf cubs were healthy enough that they were due to be released to their pack tomorrow morning, and he desperately wanted everything to go well. Was there a chance of them being rejected? What if they were sick with something he hadn't caught and they spread it to the rest of the pack?

His hand was on the door handle before he caught himself, chastising himself for getting worked up over nothing while forcing himself to sit back down on the bunk. Alfred wished he had hot chocolate or something relaxing to drink so he could just get to sleep already, but sadly their kitchen did not include those things, meaning he had to calm down the old fashioned way.

Alfred's eyes slipped shut, his breathing evening out as he allowed his mind to start to drift to more idle lines of thought. He hadn't even noticed he'd fallen onto his side on the bed until the sudden sound of a door creaking down the hall startled him into full alertness again.

'What the heck?' He didn't think he'd imagined the sound, but he wasn't sure if it was just the building settling or something else. A brief thought of ghosts sent a shiver down his spine before he firmly reminded himself that they weren't real, no matter how much his jerk of an older brother had been by telling him all those ghost stories as a kid.

If it was nothing, then there was no harm in checking it out and calming his nerves. If it was an intruder, however…

As quietly as he could, he pulled the spare glock Basch had started leaving in the backroom in case of emergency, its weight heavy in his hands. He desperately hoped he didn't need to use it, but he had no idea what the intruder might have on them (if there was one) and he really didn't want to be unprepared.

The walk down the hall was agonizingly slow, his breath and footsteps kept as quiet as he could manage. He didn't see any lights on, but that didn't mean much, did it? He stopped by one of the doors, his ears just picking up the hushed whispering of someone on the other side…

Wait, wasn't this the room they were keeping the guy in?

Two steps brought him just close enough to press an ear to the door, the better vantage point not picking up much more than the fact that there was in fact whispering coming from the room, and definitely from more than one voice. Alfred bit his lip, thinking hard over his options. Did he go in and confront them now, or did he wait for one or both of whoever was in there to come up so he could surprise them?

Better yet, would it be possible for him to call Basch or Erzsebet in to back him up before they caught on?

There were two phones in the building - one at the front desk and one in the backroom. He doubted he had enough time to make it all the way back to the room before the two tried to make their escape, but the front desk was just a bit further down the hall and would allow him to cover the main entrance. Of course, they could always end up using one of the back doors, but that was just a chance he was going to have to take.

He'd barely stepped away to do just that when the doorknob moved. Alfred swallowed, holding his breath as the door slowly opened, fingers gripping tight around his weapon as it opened to reveal the intruder, who stood a good inch or two over him and-

-wasn't wearing anything…?

The man's surprise didn't last long, and before Alfred could refocus on the issue at hand there was a mumbled apology and pressure on his neck-

Alex sighed as Alfred collapsed, catching the man before he could hit the floor. Tommy peered out from the room, making a face at the scene before shaking his head. "Good thing we weren't breaking out tonight anyways."

The werewolf grunted, carefully picking the vet up so that he wasn't being dragged on the floor. "I'm taking him back to his room; hopefully he'll just think this was a weird dream."

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Tommy waved him away, cackling quietly at the flip off he received in response.

It didn't take long to find the backroom, Alex carefully slipping him under the covers before stepping away, running a hand through his hair with another sigh. He really wished Alfred hadn't caught them, as now he was gonna have to-

-wait, why did it matter? He and Tommy were going to be gone before much longer, once their 'contact' in the police came and got them out of there. It didn't really matter what conclusions the people there came to about them, especially Alfred, so why did he even care if the guy thought he was anything other than some weird wolfdog?

Tommy's words came back to him for a brief moment before he shoved them away. The fucker had been trying to get him to 'let loose' for ages, and this was just his usual antics. Why they were getting under his skin now was because he was restless bring trapped in these walls for so long.

Alex turned and left the room, satisfied with his conclusion enough that he didn't do more that smack his friend upside the head once before shutting and locking the door with a bit more enjoyment than necessary.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: The moment you've all been waiting for! - Only not really, because I'm a jerk. Also I am having quite a bit more fun with this story than I even imagined, and yet I'm restless because there's so much good stuff ahead and I just want it all written for me now instead of having to write it myself.

Enjoy!


	9. Breather

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Alfred was going insane. That was the only explanation he could come up with, and it wasn't reassuring in the least. How else would he explain the all-too-realistic dream he'd had last night, along with all the oddities that he'd been noticing (thought, thought he'd been noticing)?

He hadn't told anyone what he'd dreamed; he could already guess they'd agree with his own self-assessment.

Everything had been normal when he'd finally woken with the dull throb of a headache; their temporary guest had still been there, Bucky had greeted him as usual, and there were no signs of anyone having broken in or out of the building last night. Hence, he was going crazy, because normal people don't dream about naked guys creeping about in the middle of the night-

Well alright, maybe some did, but he wasn't - hadn't - been one of them before.

Which only lent further credence to his conclusion of insanity. _Probably from the stress from everything going on recently_, as Yao would quip in his 'I am wise beyond measure' tone. _You should take a break, pull yourself together. You wouldn't want to risk a patient in your current state, would you?_

...it was actually rather creepy how on the spot his mental impression of the ecologist was. Then again, they'd known each other for forever at this point, so it probably wasn't too shocking all things considered.

Still, a vacation sounded like a great idea right now, and with the successful release of the pups back to their pack, there wasn't much need of him at the clinic for a while anyways. Not to mention if it was an emergency they could call him in, they did have his number, so there was little guilt in taking some time off to relax.

Thankfully, Toris was more than sympathetic. "You've been working hard lately; if anyone deserves a break it's you."

Alfred's smile was a bit weaker than usual, but no less honest. "Thanks, Toris. I'll only be gone for a few weeks at most, and I'll have my cell if you need me-"

"Don't worry about it," The brunet soothed. "I can handle an emergency if it comes in - though I doubt anything will happen, to be honest. Just focus on enjoying yourself, alright?"

Alfred sighed, a small laugh escaping him. "Fine, I can do that. I still at least expect a call if anything serious comes in so I'm not too surprised when I get back."

Toris grinned, patting his friend's hand sympathetically. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

"Jerk," The blond replied. "Just remember to take care of Bucky for me too, got it?"

The way Toris suddenly bit his lip dropped any sort of good mood Alfred had been holding on to. "About that…"

"What's wrong?" There was only one thing it could be, he realized after a silent second, his breath shuddering to a halt. "Don't tell me-"

"We can't keep Bucky," Toris sighed. "Our appeal to keep him didn't go through, so they're taking him to have him put down. I'm sorry, Alfred."

"But- why? He's completely harmless, we have proof of that!"

"State laws still apply; we don't have a license, so we can't legally own him, and since his previous owner let him escape…"

Alfred's head sank into his hands, palms rubbing at his eyes as it sank in that the mutt he'd come to love was just going to be put down, just like that, just because of his heritage. He felt a hand resting on his shoulders, Toris' sympathetic gaze on him.

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I know you cared about him a lot."

Part of Alfred that was still the little kid who'd always wanted a pet was tempted to scream about how unfair it was, but he swallowed it down and wiped at his face one last time, putting on a weak smile for his friend. "Can- can I say goodbye, at least?"

Toris' expression fell again. "The officer who came by to put up our guest already took him. It was while you and Erzsebet were out releasing the pups; Yao thought it'd be- easier-" He looked somewhat ashamed now. "-if you didn't have to see him go."

Not knowing what else to say, Alfred nodded, looking back to his hands and starting a long, awkward silence until his friend finally broke it with a cough.

"I wish I could see you off with better news, but," Toris hesitated. "I hope your vacation goes well."

"Thanks, Toris," Alfred replied eventually. "I'll try."

His friend gave him one last pat on the back, pressing something into his hands before leaving Alfred to his own thoughts. It was Bucky's collar, still looking as new as it had when he'd gotten it and the engraved name tag for him less than a month ago.

Had it really been only a month and a half since Bucky had come into his clinic and his life? It was hard to believe now.

(He didn't think three weeks was going to be enough time, but it would have to be, wouldn't it?)

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: I wasn't honestly expecting to write this today considering my mood, but I got it out somehow. Maybe because the tone fits my mood or something IDK. I feel really bad for Alfred, but I know happy times are coming soon for him so it'll all be better, but still.

This is sort of the end of the first half; the second will basically all be well away from the clinic and it also gonna have the relationship buildup and the rest of the serious plot. …In all respects, it's probably been well under less than halfway, but whatever.


	10. Remeeting Again

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

"_You know we need to stay low until they find a new place for us."_

"_I know, Tommy, I just- need to get some fresh air."_

"_More like you want to brood over blondie some more."_

Alex had not deigned to reply then, just flipping his friend off as he stepped outside and started pacing the streets, the stretch after so long nice on his legs. Of course he made sure to keep his head low, and stayed close to people so anyone who for some reason did recognize him like this wouldn't try to pull anything in broad daylight.

Eventually, even he had to rest, and as he was too far from their apartment to walk back to rest there he figured the nearby park bench would do well enough for the moment.

The air was just starting to take on the nippy edge of winter, a soft chill that brought back memories from before he'd started living like this. The idea that there was a time where it hadn't mattered that sometimes he had paws instead of hands and feet was unreal, like it belonged to another child, another lifetime.

Maybe it had. There was no mistaking the person he was now with that bright-eyed kid; he'd seen his own sunken gaze after one too many late shifts to ever mistake them, though Tommy rarely mentioned them, just acted slightly less assholish on those days.

What he would have done without the guy, Alex didn't know.

His gaze wandered over the small pond, still host to several families of wildfowl who were too lazy to fly south when they could enjoy food year round from the townsfolk who still felt the need to feed them whenever they wandered by. Really, how the birds put up with some of the food they got the were couldn't even begin to imagine-

Unbiddingly, a memory of his time at the clinic came to mind, a pang of guilt with it. He really hadn't meant for Alfred to get so attached to him - hadn't expected it, he'd always been just a bit too imposing to most people, even if they didn't always know why. And, if he were honest, he hadn't expected to start feeling so comfortable around the place either - heck, he'd started to forget about the collar of all things by the end!

(When Tommy had pointed out out, he'd been so startled to forget something like that that he hadn't even been able to come up with a good retort, just quietly removing it for the rest of their talk before putting it back on to be 'Bucky' again. He didn't think either of them really knew what to say about it, really.)

And the look he'd gotten just before he'd knocked the guy out had been-

It didn't matter. Bucky was dead, he was soon to be gone, and Alfred would never know anything odd about his temporary pet. So why did he still care so much about what the guy thought?

His head rolled back, eyes shut as he tried to make sense of his own thoughts. The closest thing he could think of was that it had been such a stark difference from his usually quiet life that it'd left a stronger impression than usual, with the addition of getting almost used to a face that was genuinely happy to see him everyday-

Bucky, not him. But god, it was hard to remember sometime when that expression had just been so- so-

"Cute," Alex murmured, cracking his eyes open to look up at the tree branches shading him.

Was that the source, then? A crush on a guy just because he flashed him a nice smile and a nice ass? Wow, he was getting desperate after all. Maybe he should considering taking Tommy up on those offers of nights at bars to meet some friendly faces for a bit of stress relief.

And if he was seriously considering _that_ idea, he obviously needed more help than he originally thought. And this introspection certainly wasn't helping, especially now that he'd reluctantly decided why he couldn't just get Alfred out of his mind like he should have. Crushes were seriously a pain in the ass, ulgh.

He should be getting home. Tommy wouldn't be any happier when he got back, but at least Alex would be less likely to snap at him from restlessness. That in and of itself would have made this trip worth it, even if the threat of picking up and moving still loomed over them both.

"_Three weeks,"_ He'd been told by the officer who'd picked them up - Braginsky, right? Something Russian, at least - after he'd pulled to the side to let them out. "_Time to set up your new houses and transport there."_

That seemed like ages to someone who had already had to spend a month hurrying to wait to recover and to escape. Alex liked to consider himself patient - at least, more so than Tommy - but even he had his limits, and he only hoped it'd be over fast and painlessly on everyone's part so he could stop worrying about goddamned hunters again for a while…

There was a crunch of leaves beside him, his eyes startling open again as his thoughts were interrupted. Shit, he really had let himself go if he'd gotten so careless, especially under his circumstances.

It wasn't a hunter or a stranger, though, who had stopped to stare at him like a ghost. It was the last face he had expected or wanted to see, and based on the way the guy was looking at him he wasn't going to get away so easily.

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Thus begins arc two, and I think I broke every romantic cliche ever in this one chapter by actually having Alex go 'wait a second there's something off here- oh well shit then'. Okay, maybe not all of them, but one of the main ones.

I guess it's just a bit tiring to always see characters oblivious to or in denial of their feelings for pages and pages and it's like 'dude at least admit it to yourself and stop being so stupid its just a crush for gods sake.'

…does that make me a bad person for saying that?


	11. For the First Time

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

If the day before hadn't been enough to tell Alfred his vacation wasn't going to be fun, the sound of his fire alarm going off the next morning would have been all the warning he needed that he should just remain in his bedroom until the zombie apocalypse came.

Huddling under the covers, sadly, did not make the blaring noise that had woken him at way too early in the morning go away, so with a groan he threw the covers off and made his way towards the kitchen. The not so faint traces of smoke grew stronger as he approached, carrying swears along with them.

"Arthur?" He asked as he ducked into his kitchen, coughing a bit. "When did you get here?"

"Oh, Alfred!" His older brother greeted, in the middle of beating back the last of the fire from the frying pan he'd apparently tried to soak in the sink while still hot. Again. "Sorry about this, I was trying to make you breakfast but I looked away for a second and, well, you know how the fey are…"

Oh great, his magical friends. Alfred smiled like it totally made sense for invisible little people to set people's food on fire. "Hey, it happens. You should have let me know you were coming over."

"I left a message on your phone last night," Arthur waved it off, setting the ruined pan down. "And you left me your spare key, so I decided to let myself in instead of waking you up. You looked rather exhausted when I peeked in - have you been getting enough rest?"

"Yeah, yeah, just some stuff at work getting to me, so I'm on break for a bit to clear my head." Man, could his brother go from crazy stiff to over concerned mother in just a few seconds.

The self-proclaimed English gentleman scoffed, though he looked relieved at the admission. "As long as you're taking care of yourself, then."

Alfred yawned, heading over to his cupboard to get himself and his brother some cereal. "So why're you in town? I thought you were over in England on some research project or whatever."

"What, I can't visit my brother while on break?" Arthur asked, just a touch too quickly for the younger man's taste.

"Only if you stick to coffee while you're here." The vet shot back, sitting at the table with his breakfast and pouring himself a bowlful before passing the box over.

"Rude," The elder replied, accepting the box and pouring his own bowl before sitting down in the other other seat in the kitchen. They lapsed into an agreeable silence only broken once by the fire department, which Alfred had to reassure that there was no fire and that it was just his brother's cooking skills and that no it wasn't going to happen again I promise officer.

" 's not my bloody fault," Arthur muttered under his breath as Alfred returned, swatting at the air over Alfred's food with a scowl.

"Just let it go, Artie," Alfred commented, setting his food to the side. "Remember what happened last time you tried to convince someone about that?"

The flush he got as Arthur deliberately turned away was enough to get Alfred laughing, the Briton deliberately denying needing to be bailed out all the while. Eventually he settled down into light chuckles, wiping away the tears that'd come from laughing a bit too hard.

"So, did you want to do something today or what? I didn't really have any plans, so-"

"Actually," Arthur interrupted, looking a bit sheepish. "I was hoping to catch up with Lukas and Sorin, since they're in the area as well. Bit of a reunion and all that."

"Oh, right, sure." Not that Alfred had been starting to look forward to a day with some family, since they rarely saw each other these days, but- "Maybe later this week then?"

"Of course," Arthur smiled, ruffling his younger brother's hair despite the squawk of protest he received for it. "I'm going to head out for a bit then; you stay safe and have fun, alright?"

"I'm not ten anymore, Artie, you don't need to treat me like a kid." The American rolled his eyes, shaking his head as his brother just waved farewell as he stepped out the door again.

And with that silence fell on the apartment, not counting the sound of the heater humming as it kept the building toasty in the late autumn morning. Alfred hadn't really noticed how quiet it was in the morning here, being so used to getting up and rushing to get to work in the morning, but now that he had nowhere to be it struck him just how little he actually stopped and noticed these sorts of things.

When was the last time he'd just gone for a walk around the area, actually? He couldn't recall off the top of his head.

"Whelp, it's better than nothing," Alfred muttered to himself, pushing away from the table as he went to actually get dressed. If nothing else, it'd wake him up enough to think about what he actually wanted to do on his break (besides moping around, which he was avoiding by deliberately not thinking about anything related to- nope nope not going there).

He exhaled sharply as he stepped outside the building, glad he'd thought to grab his coat as he started making his way down the street. Vague memories of a nearby park directed his walk, figuring if he was going to burn energy it should be somewhere that wouldn't be crowded with people all getting to work. Thankfully it wasn't too far, allowing him to make his way in with little trouble.

It was quiet here, but with the background noises of both the local wildlife and the town beyond it wasn't too bad. To amuse himself he started deliberately walking through the small piles of leaves here and there on the path, grinning at the crunch under his shoes. A few minutes into his private game he turned a corner, spotting someone that looked vaguely familiar as he stepped right into another pile.

The other man's head came up, looking right towards him and causing Alfred to exhale sharply as he recognized the face that had haunted his dreams for the past three nights.

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AN: Basically introducing Arthur and showing Al's side of things before the all important firstish remeeting. Which is totally a term. But yeah hopefully everyone is looking forward to where this is going and will like what I'm planning in terms of plot and relationship development.

Do you like the dynamic I have with Arthur and Alfred? IDK, it just felt right while I was writing this so I was curious.


	12. Slip of the Tongue

Suitable Wereiness (Hetalia)

Author: Ashynarr

Summary: An otherwise routine day working as a wildlife vet is interrupted by the arrival of the most unusual wolf captured by a poacher's trap. The oddities of the whole scenario just don't add up, especially when more and more odd occurrences start happening around the building, and Alfred's determined to get to the bottom of things.

Disclaimer: Hetalia's not mine.

Warning: 1pAme2pCan, werewolf!Alex, human AU

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After a lingering stretch of eye contact, Alex closed his eyes, going along with the dim and childish hope that if he denied it ever happened, maybe Alfred would as well and they could both go on with their lives. Judging from the hasty footsteps that skidded to a stop in front of him, that wasn't going to happen.

"You're real," Alfred whispered breathily.

"I'd hope so," Alex commented, cracking his eyes open again to look at the other man. "Otherwise I'd be paying bills for no reason."

"I- what?" The vet seemed a bit thrown by the slight snark to the reply, but shook his head and continued on. "Nevermind, I just- who are you? Why were you in the complex?"

Shit, this was the last thing Alex wanted to deal with. Keeping a carefully neutral face, he responded, "Complex?"

"The one in the park!" Alfred fumed.

The were pressed his lips together. "Can't say I've ever been there."

"You were talking with the kidnapper dude!"

Alex wondered how much farther he could push before Alfred gave up or started getting genuinely pissed off. "And why would I be doing that?"

Alfred threw his hands up. "I don't know! Maybe you're his partner or something and you were trying to break him out or something."

"Considering I don't associate with criminals, I don't see how any of that's likely."

"You-" Alfred closed his eyes and exhaled, running a hand through his hair while he seemed to recenter himself. "I know I wasn't imagining things. I'd never seen you before then, so I couldn't have made you up, the glock was in the wrong place, and you had Bucky's collar on."

Shit, he hadn't counted on Alfred noticing that bit of guesswork. "You do realize you sound crazy, right?"

Alfred laughed mirthlessly, looking directly at Alex. "How do you think I've been feeling for the past week?"

Alex paused, actually taking in the stress underlining the other man's eyes. Had… had his leaving done all this? He'd told himself that there was no way Alfred would care that much about Bucky, but…

"I don't know what you've been through recently, but it probably hasn't been too great considering you could hide a truck in those bags," Alex replied slowly. "I'd say the best thing for you right now is you buy yourself some chamomile tea, crawl in bed, and just ignore the world for a while."

Alfred sighed, looking like all the fight had fallen out of him at once. "That's probably for the best… sorry for bothering you about all this."

"It's fine, I've had bad weeks too," Alex replied, smiling a little as he got up. "If it counts for anything, I hope you feel better soon, Al."

Figuring he was now in the clear to leave, Alex turned with a small wave farewell, taking several steps before-

"-I never told you my name."

Shit. "What?"

When Alex glanced back Alfred was frowning at him. "You called me Al. I never told you my name."

"I said 'pal'." Alex quickly covered, wincing internally.

The pause before the reply was just enough for Alex to kick himself for the slip, his relief barely restrained when Alfred's frown lightened. "Right, sorry, just thought…"

Rather than risk another slip, Alex waved it off, turning back to his calm retreat from the vicinity. The most important part about running was not letting them know you were running, and until he was out of the park and back to his apartment he was not going to let anyone know he wasn't calm.

The exit wasn't too far from here, if he recalled correctly. Just another couple bends in the path and he'd be back among civilization-

His head twisted just slightly towards the sound to his left, his steps faltering as his mind took the half second necessary to figure out what had caused the disturbance in the trees. That moment nearly cost him, as he'd looked away from the side the attack came from, leaving him much less time to respond to the strike from his blind side.

'_Hunters here of all places?'_ He growled, ducking and blocking and retaliating where he could. '_We're in the middle of the city for fuck's sake!'_

Not to mention he was the only one here; what did he expect to gain from engaging a fully grown were in good health one on one? There's no way they're let a hunter young enough to make such a mistake out on the field on his own-

He choked back a scream as something slammed around his throat, liquid fire instantly starting to spread from the points of contact. A fucking were collar, silver laced for just enough pain to knock them out without killing, and he'd fallen for such a stupid trap. Even the secondary pain of his knee hitting the ground barely took from it, and it was only with great effort that he forced himself to memorize the smug pale face now grinning down at him.

"And here I thought you'd be a hard catch," The man commented, yanking at the collar. "Maybe your friend will be more interesting."

"Don't waste your breath," The man behind him commented coolly. "The sooner we get it out of here, the sooner it can be disposed of."

Disposed of. God, Alex hated hunters. At this point his eyes were barely open, sheer stubborn tendencies keeping him aware of his surroundings. It was the only reason, in fact, that he was at all aware of the two people holding him captive suddenly startling and turning to the side, only for one of them to abruptly leave his narrowing field of view courtesy of a fist to the face.

The last thing he could recall was a panicked voice and the feeling of weight falling off his shoulders, the ebbing pain rocking him into unconsciousness.

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AN: So between starting the mer story and writing my exchange gift, this sorta fell to the wayside for a bit, whoops. I also spend most of the writing period bitching over how the heck I was supposed to make everything fall together so Alex would have to tell Alfred about the whole thing before finally settling on this.

Not entirely happy, but it's done, so hoorah I want to sleep.


End file.
